


When Sun Shines Dark - wizard+pirate crossover RP

by The Ocean (Vileplume)



Category: Pirate101 (Video Game), Wizard101
Genre: Action/Adventure, Multi, Multiple Perspectives, OCS101, Original Characters - Freeform, cleaned up roleplay between friends, fun times with the "Let's Save the Spiral I Guess" gang, graphic depictions of violence but not to the protagonists, longfic, tags to be updated, video game mechanics and kingsisle-style plot conveniences
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-18
Updated: 2019-08-18
Packaged: 2020-09-06 11:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20290783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vileplume/pseuds/The%20Ocean
Summary: A new threat has risen to destroy the Spiral, one unseen to those gifted with perception, and one out of reach of those Spiral's scholars. An underworld enemy, the likes of which pirates may be familiar with... can those gifted with magic learn to cooperate with those gifted in melee?OCS101 RP Room #2's months long collab. Co-written by 9+ authors - an original story, and an exciting adventure. 80% complete, ongoing.





	1. DAY 1 - meeting, planing

**Author's Note:**

> rp room #2's masterpiece ! it CAN be done aksljldkgjh
> 
> **Writers list:**  
Iridian: diaz  
Iceglade, Halyard: me :)  
Corry, Mercedes: ewwie  
Isabella: jade  
Amirah: cath  
Jean, Mary: eli  
The Shatterhands: inaan  
Victor: theo  
Destiny: gabriel
> 
> This RP got LONG - we're at almost 100k now, unedited, so please settle in and enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _A new threat has risen to destroy the Spiral, one unseen to those gifted with perception, and one out of reach of those Spiral's scholars. An underworld enemy, the likes of which pirates may be familiar with... can those gifted with magic learn to cooperate with those gifted in melee?_
> 
> Talk To  
\- Corrvin Cloak  
Skull Island  
Kraken Skulls Tavern

DAY 1

_A new threat has risen to destroy the Spiral, one unseen to those gifted with perception, and one out of reach of those Spiral's scholars. An underworld enemy, the likes of which pirates may be familiar with... can those gifted with magic learn to cooperate with those gifted in melee?_

\-----

Iridian Greengrove hated only a select few things― flowers wilting, boredom, and the Marleybonian government. Iridian had now decided to add "being told to wait outside the tavern" to the list. The life wizard blew a small piece of hair out of their left eye and kick at the dust beneath their feet. One hand fumbles in the pocket of their nicest medium brown dress pants, where a borrowed pocket watch sat, while the other brushes stray dirt off their suspenders and white dress shirt. They'd been told to not come in wizard robes, seeing as they were in pirate territory, but Iridian didn't see the big deal with it. They shielded their eyes from the sun as they looked up towards the sky, it was going to be one hell of a meeting and one long-ass day.

A small wizard clad in black robes made her way through the shopping area desperately looking for something. Her eyes widened as she read the sign: Kraken Skulls Tavern. She carefully weaved her way through a crowd of people in the street until she found herself at the front of the tavern, looking around her to see if there was anyone else making their way into the tavern. The only one she could see was another wizard who looked about the same age as her. She decided to go over and make small talk, awkwardly making her way over to Iridian. Her expression quickly turned into a welcoming smile. 

“Hello!” she said. “Is this where the other wizards are meeting?” Iridian, focused on drawing a detailed map of wizard city in the dust with the tip of their shoe on the ground, almost jumped. 

"Ah, you are..." Iridian attempted to remember the names on the list Mr. Cloak had shown them before they'd left. "...Miss Crow...? Isabella?" The life wizard took a guess at the girl's name. 

The girl’s welcoming smile turns into a cheerful grin. “Yup! That’s me!” She looked down at the dirt and her expression quickly turned into a curious one. “I don’t think I caught your name, though?” She asked, examining the ground, then looked back up at the wizard, examining them, smiling again.

"Greengrove, Iridian," the wizard responded simply, noticing the younger student's clear politeness, and deciding to test it. “Ravenwood’s infamous twink and dumbass, also known for being the reason Cyrus Drake has night terrors. Pleasure to make your acquaintance.” 

Isabella giggled in response. She liked this one.

\-----

Corrvin Cloak, a dark-haired, nervous-looking adult, sat in the backroom of Skull Island's quieter tavern, adjusting his glasses and fluttering his wings. Esteemed wizards from all over the Spiral and the less… seedy pirates had also been invited to the meeting in this very room to discuss the Spiral’s fate. He was not one to delve into what he deemed the Arcanum's dirty work, but he knew what they were asking was not intended to be a secret. From what little information he'd heard, it was a threat not to be taken lightly. They would need all the help they could get, no matter how he felt about it. Corry waited patiently, checking the time.

The thaumaturge Iceglade, brown waves framing blue eyes and a kind-looking face, ducked into the back room, glancing around it, curious, and paused when she saw Cloak sitting at the table patiently. Her partner, the pirate captain Halyard, circle-shaped glasses and dark, straight, short choppy hair, gently nudged her from behind, peeking over her shoulder and wondering as to why she stopped, and then moved past her to survey the room herself. Corry watched them come in with a measured look. Halyard spotted Corry sitting at the table. "Yo," she waved, tipping her hat. "We're seeking a meeting with one Corrvin Cloak?"

Corry nodded. "That would be me. Find a seat anywhere, I'm sure the others will join us soon."

At the entrance, the lunarmancer Amirah arrived, eyeing the establishment itself with little interest. Her hair was light, blueish, almost white, and her skin was dark and accented with silvery jewelry over her flowing, pretty robes. She headed into the back, spotting the wizards and the pirate, one which she recognized as Corrvin. She stepped into the back room silently, sitting beside him at the table. "Greetings," she said passively. "I suppose I'm on time. We are waiting for the others, yes?"

Accompanied by the clicking of boots down the cellar's stairs, came a low, playful whistle. The group turned to look. "Woah, this place's never looked so lively 'til now," said the newcomer, removing their feathery hat to reveal a handsome face and brown ponytail, smirking reaching all the way up to his golden eyes. Captain Julien Eastwick of the _Shatterhands_ crew, feared throughout Skull Island skyways, swept into the room. "Skinny Pete's gladder than ever, I bet."

Following after him was a taller, darker-skinned individual, with slicked back blue hair and eyes like passion flowers. His body was sculpted, well-built, broad - more reserved than his captain, but the tough man drew eyes, as the crew of the _Shatterhands_ were wont to do. Zafar Holystone was serving as Eastwick's right-hand for today (only due to the fact that Wen's too busy chasing after some skirts to actually do her job, so now he had to step in).

Every pirate in the room recognized the pair. Rumors have it that, if he wanted to, he could bring even Avery down to his knees. Opinions were mixed, but none could deny - the crew of the _Shatterhands_ pirate ship were truly, deeply, formidable. 

"Everyone's here, yeah?" Holystone queried, his Miragean accent light. He scanned some familiar and some new faces in the cellar, and committed them to memory. 'Doesn't matter if friend or foe, they're only there for business, all the same,' he thought to himself. 

Halyard tipped her hat, moving aside to let Eastwick and his partner pass by. "Eastwick! Your reputation precedes you. Ivy Halyard, of the humble adventuring vessel the _Dread Oracle_, and my first mate Taylor Iceglade,” she said, drama for drama. “I've heard tales." Iceglade nodded in greeting, looking the two _Shatterhands_ members over.

"It's an honor to know the captain of the _Dread Oracle_'s heard of me," Eastwick tipped his hat back at her with a charming wink. "But I must say, those tales 'bout your beauty really undermines you in person."

Holystone rolled his eyes at his captain— typical Jules. "D’you really needa flirt with anybody you see?" he muttered as the both of them took their seats. 

"Beauty, ha,” Halyard replied. “I exaggerated those tales myself. I'm flattered, though, mister," Halyard replied as Iceglade laughed quietly behind her, unthreatened by the route pass. 

Eastwick smirked. Placing his arms behind his neck, he tiped his chair back slightly, carefully balancing himself on its legs. "No need to be so humble. We pirates are prideful bastards, after all. Ain't that right, Far?"

"Yeah, you got enough ego to spare the rest of us." said man snorted, causing the swashbuckler to lightly hit his arm in retaliation. 

Halyard took a seat near the other end of the table, and Iceglade hovered behind her, watchful and calm. It was beginning to fill in now, Corry noted, flashing those who greeted him a polite smile. He folded his hands in his lap, taking a deep breath, and prepares the sheets he'd been given to debrief.

\-----

Back by the door, Iridian looked away from their fellow wizard to quickly check the pocket watch buried in their pocket. "By the looks of it, miss, I'm guessing you need to be stepping into that tavern by now. I've already seen a couple more people enter."

It hit Isabella suddenly that she was not back in Wizard City anymore. Her eyes widened. “Oh, you’re right! I completely forgot about that!” She quickly turned and headed towards the door, but then stopped and turned back to Iridian. “Are you coming?”

Iridian scoffed. "Sadly not, miss, I'm not actually a part of the meeting. I'm just a student consort." ‘"Accompany me to the meeting,” he had said.” Iridian thought to themself. "It'll be a vital learning experience,” he had said.’

Isabella’s eyes fell, saddened that Iridian would not be accompanying her into the tavern, but she hid it behind her smile. “Okay! See you around then!” She creaked open the tavern door, hoping to not draw attention. She weaved her way through the crowd of wizards until she found herself at the back of the tavern.

Iridian let out a small, tired puff of air as they watched the younger wizard open the tavern door and walk in. They wondered how long this meeting would take, and checked their pocket watch again in vain, as if it would change the time. Time refused to bend to Iridian’s whims. After a moment, they snapped the watch shut again and shoved it back in their pocket, crossing their arms and leaning against the outer wall of the tavern a little ways from the door.

\-----

The whispered, urgent invitation had seemed like a trap at first, until a quiet inquiry had confirmed it to be legitimate. Pirate captain Jean, clad in greens and blacks and a stylish eye mask, reflected that it seemed odd to be meeting in the backroom and not the cellar, though he figured the latter was more of a pirate’s secret than anything advertised to newcomers to Skull Island. Skinny Pete had directed him to the curtain behind the bar after being shown the small slip of Wizards’ parchment, and as Jean stepped through, he realized he was not the only pirate to have been invited. Everyone turned to look at the new newcomer. Jean nodded cautious greetings to the others seated around the table as he took his seat, placing both his hands on the table as a show of peace. 

“Welcome to Skull Island,” he said, having notices the presence of at least one Wizard, “Mind the crawlies and your coin-purses and you’re sure to have a lovely time here.” 

Corrvin let out a short huff to get everyone’s attention, docking his papers against the table once. "I think almost everyone is here." 

As he said this, Isabella entered the room. Corry straightened a little, recognizing her. Hiring mere children to fulfill this mission seemed… low, even for the council, but he wasn't going to say anything.

The wizard cleared his throat, readying himself for business. "You are all gathered here today to risk your lives for the greater good. I know you weren't given many details upon the invitation, but that is due to the fact that there are.. many, many details." He glanced around the room.

Looking down from Corry, Iceglade pulled two sheets of paper out of pouch at her hip. One - not the one she handed to Halyard who took it absentmindedly with a quick glance, but the one with which Halyard idly unfolded and placed on the table - gave location and time information about the meeting they were at. Across the table, Eastwick had done the same, which his companion looked over. Isabella looked around at the adults standing around her, noticing the pair had brought papers out as Corry had been talking. She felt so irresponsible, she forgot her mission invitation in her dorm room! She turned her attention back to Corry, looking intently, hoping nobody would notice her nerves.

“So this is a mission, not a job?” From across the table, the words slipped from Jean’s mouth before he had a chance to think on them.

“A mission, a job- it’s whatever you want to call it,” replies Corry. “Most importantly, it’s dangerous. Simply put, this is an enemy that we believe to be bigger than those faced before. That is why we’re here, to you pirates. Because…” he paused, and then sighed. “Because you pirates seem to have a better grasp on who exactly it is.” Corry didn’t seem pleased. “The attacks, the deaths in the streets, valuables going missing.”

Eastwick idly fiddled with the corner of his paper, and skimmed through it with a nonchalant look. Inside, he was almost insulted at the implication that he and his crew would just comply, help out for some loose concept like the Greater Good like they were just some cheap hired help, spiral plumbers. "Doin' this for the 'greater good' sounds grand and all, but how come this wasn't done earlier?" When he smiled, it was all sharp teeth and sharper intentions. "Bit funny how once this hits the wizardin' community, you're all up in arms; and askin' for our help, nonetheless."

His chair smacked flat on the wooden floor. "Ah, luckily for you, I don't really care to talk 'bout the hypocrisy of such esteemed magic-users." his chin rests atop of his hand, one leg crossed over the other, an image akin to the Frogfather. "What I really care 'bout are the rewards," his fingers pressed against each other like he was flicking off gold dust, an avaricious expression darkening his features. "Give me somethin' of equal value to this mission, and I might consider givin' you my ship and crew."

From across the table, Halyard tilted her head, face impassive. Her fingers tapped on the table. Iceglade spoke up. "You're so quick to strike your allies, Captain Eastwick," she said. "We'd hate to lose your expertise just because potentially all any of us'd have to pay you with is our favors and all of our lives."

"Favor for a favor, we always say in Skull Island," shrugged Eastwick. When he glanced at the wizards in the room, suddenly, his gaze isn't laughing anymore. "You guys're gonna be fightin' on our turf, now— you best learn how to play the game here, lest you wanna die."

Insulted, most everyone moved to start talking all at once. Isabella let out a sigh as she watched all the older wizards and pirates fight. Her gaze kept unhappily shifting between the arguing group and the door. Eventually, she slowly got up, as to not alert anyone, and silently made her way to the door. Amongst the adults, rising above the voices was Jean’s voice, “Who cares about the gold?” he snorted. “What about the adventure? The mystery? The kill-“

He was cut off by Halyard’s call of "Peace, peace!" Corry looked like he was getting a headache.

Iceglade looked just as unamused. "What do any of us know about this new threat, anyway? Because through our oracle contacts in Aquila, Halyard and I have been given a prophecy." Halyard placed the folded sheet of paper on the table, but didn't push it forward. Iceglade continued, "Can we all play nice, please?"

Eastwick looked towards the paper with distaste. "No offense, but I'm not particularly fond of layin' down my life just 'cause some wizard asks me to," remarked the _Shatterhands_ captain. "And it's as you say, Iceglade, what do any of us know 'bout this new enemy? Don't act as if blind optimism will be able to defeat them, that's not how reality works."

Iceglade fully turned to face Eastwick. "Of course. Sharp-eyed optimism is always the better plan. This arguing is going to scare off half the group we could assemble before we even get to pool our information. Halyard and I don't intend to tackle the issues we've been seeing alone. That's why we're here, at a wizard's call."

Halyard spoke, "I'm curious now. Why're you here, captain? There's no gold or gift reward. What's stopping you from walking right out the door to insult the magicians here?"

"Oh, never said I was gonna walk out this meetin', Iceglade, Halyard," judging by his tone, his bias is made distinctly clear, Iceglade’s boldness striking him the wrong way, despite her words being by Halyard’s quiet request. "I'm willin' to hear everythin' out, even when it's borin'."

"It's your job to, anyway." reminded his buccaneer companion, who he gave a nonchalant wave to.

Amirah gazed at the group of pirates, before her eyes were drawn back to the papers in front of her. "This threat....” she spoke up, quiet voice commanding more attention than the raised voices, “It is far greater than the riches you ask for. Is there no way to place that desire aside? It is the fate of the very Spiral we speak of. Cooperation is all we ask." She was silent for a moment, her eyes falling closed. Within another second, her eyes were back on Eastwick. "If you need further incentive for us to secure your loyalty, I may be able to provide."

Eastwick glanced at the white-haired wizard, curiosity piqued. "Ah, do you?" his signature smirk returning to his face. "If you're so willin', I might take this deal, just for you, heh."

\-----

Outside the tavern, Iridian stood waiting. "Yeah, so that's why decided to come here, really. It was kind of an impulse decision, but hey, it's not like anyone's gonna be left to mourn me if someone mugs and guts me here," they admitted, a masking smile on their face. "Anyway, so what's it like to live on Skull Island? Is it any fun?"

The crow perching on the windowsill next to Iridian caws in response, wordless. Just a crow. Iridian nodded as if that caw meant something. "That's good, that's good. How're the kids?" Another caw, as the bird poked at a few debris on the ledge, looking for food. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know." Two caws, wings flapping. "I'm sorry I assumed." One more caw, then the crow flew away without as much as a by-your-leave, leaving the life wizard alone once more. Iridian sighed as they watch the dark figure of the bird fly off into the sky. “Typical," they said plainly.

Inside the tavern, Isabella slowly pushed aside the curtain door and made her way out of the tavern. To her happy surprise, Iridian was still outside, looking towards the sky. “Hey Iridian!” she called out.

Iridian jumped at the voice. ‘How in the Spiral is she so quiet?’ they asked themselves before turning to the younger wizard. "Miss Crow, you seem to be out here earlier than expected. Is the meeting over?" They asked, making themselves presentable by dusting off their shirt and pants quickly.

Isabella frowned. “No, the meeting is still going, but everybody was fighting, so I decided to sneak out while I had the chance.”

Iridian straightened up in alarm, "Are we talking verbal fighting or physical fighting?" Their tone was more worried than they would've liked it to be. Did Mr. Cloak even know how to fight pirates? Not to say that Iridian knew how to, but it was still a valid concern in their eyes.

Isabella looked down at the ground and kicked some rocks out from below her feet, expression strange. “No, it’s just verbal fighting....for now.”

"Well if the meeting's going nowhere from here, I should probably just grab Mr. Cloak," Iridian thought out loud, red eyes making their way to the slightly ajar tavern door.

“...You know its funny,” Isabella continued, looking up from the ground to Iridian. “Us wizards and pirates can’t even set aside our differences and greed if it means the world is slowly falling apart.” She thought to herself for a moment, then made a smile for Iridian. “...but maybe I’m just over-exaggerating!”

"That’s food for thought, though sadly not enough to tame an angry crowd of adults," Iridian scoffed in spite of trying to be polite. Even from outside, muffled voices could be heard from the tavern’s back room. "You're definitely not over-exaggerating, otherwise, what did you just walk out of?" The life wizard asked with a small, but coy smile. Isabella gave a resigned smile back.

\-----

In the tavern, Amirah returned Eastwick’s smile, her blue painted lips brighter than before, as if to hint at the power the wizard could hold. "I can offer either gold or special offers on behalf of myself. You see, should you ever seek answers about your future, I can provide them for you for free. But, if you desire solid wealth, I can offer that instead. It is your choice to make, should you take my deal."

"My, a fortune teller, eh?" Eastwick regarded her with a thoughtful look on his face. "Not such a bad idea... hey Far, what d'you think?"

"It is somethin' you like, Vi was tryna practice it for you, still is."

"Hmm... very well, then," he clapped and rubbed his gloved hands together. "Fine, we're in, now. In exchange, Miss Fortune Teller, you ever find yourself in Skull Island again, hit me up anytime you like." He pinched two fingers into a circle, and looked at her through it, a manner meant to unnerve. "Favor for a favor, and all that jazz."

That settled, Iceglade moved back to stand as a watchful shadow. Jean crossed his arms in his seat, leaning backwards. Halyard looked around the room. "Who else is in?"

\-----

Outside, Isabella suddenly let out a small laugh. “You know, it’s a lot like the Death school. Everyone arguing and fighting at the drop of a pencil. Death wizards are the worst!”

Iridian was a bit surprised. "Gee, never would've guessed death students were like that. Then again, I don't hang out with many. I've definitely fought a couple," they admitted, their social walls starting to come down a bit, their shoulders loosening and their tone growing less formal. Isabella smiled at the sight of Iridian being more relaxed, then frowned again thinking about her beloved school and the things it had to endure. 

“Yeah, ever since Malistaire left, the Death school has fallen apart.”

"Ah, well, no offense meant to your school, but I think everyone at Ravenwood knows that much already." Iridian shoved their hands in their pockets and cast their eyes to the ground. Isabella pouted slightly and looked like she wished to say something in Death’s defense, but she wasn’t sure what to say. They were silent for a moment, though the silence wasn’t hostile. There was the sound of wind and birds cawing - clouds passed overhead, casting drifting shadows over the cobble and buildings. In Skull Island, within the week, it seemed to the pair that there was going to be a storm.

Becoming aware that they had not heard raised voices in a little while, Iridian looked up again at Isabella. "Well, seeing as things don't seem to be progressing, you wouldn't mind if I offered to buy you a drink?" They asked, a small friendly smile on their face, before they realized the unintentional implications, "Non-alcoholic, of course," the life wizard reassured quickly, "if they have stuff that isn't alcohol."

Isabella smiled, already past what had been said about the Death school. “I could go for a drink!”

Iridian nodded in response and walked over to the tavern door, holding it open politely with a smile. "Death students first."

She smiled at them and walked into the tavern. She patiently waited for Iridian to come inside after her before heading to the barstools.

\-----

Jean leaned forward with an intense expression that showed through his mask, examining Amirah. “A bribe, here, on behalf of and to men you barely know? An interesting choice, not one I would have made, but I can’t fault you for that,” he glanced around at the ragtag group, wondering what simmered in their heads behind their faces. “I suppose we need help from whatever we can scrape up, then.”

"We got a livin' to make, too, y'know. Even in the most unsavory ways." Eastwick gestured to both him and Holystone— there again, was that playful grin. Jean’s examination shifted from Amirah to Eastwick.

The lunarmancer smiled, fulfilled at easing this uneasy alliance. "Unfortunately, I did not expect such a proposition while I was in Skull Island, so I had left my tarot cards back in Wizard City. However, at the next chance I get, I can bring them back here," she said. "Would you be able to until then, Captain Eastwick?"

"Eh, you shouldn't worry, Miss Fortune Teller, I'm a very patient man." he gave her a small head-tilt. "I'm not that unreasonable when it comes to collectin' my payment."

Halyard watched the table, face carefully unreadable. Behind her glasses her eyes glittered with distaste despite not speaking up. She respected Eastwick, but she didn’t have to like him very much. Such arrogant vice. 

Corry allowed them to settle that dispute, un-ruffling his feathers. “As I was saying,” he cleared his throat. “This enemy is definitely one based in your waters, pirates. Whatever enemy is able to tamper with teleportation fountains as well as spawn a prophecy is not something to be taken lightly. Whatever your boon may be, gold or adventure, the council will pay.”

“What are we after? Is this thing a thing we can kill? Or are we trying to...neutralize it?” Jean asked, steepling his fingers, fixing his gaze on Corrvin. “And it’s important now because it’s affecting wizards, right?”

“We… aren’t sure.” It pained him to say it, to reveal himself as so utterly lost. “We don’t know if we can kill it- and yes. But it’s also going to affect pirates if we don’t take action now.”

Jean blinked, face impassive, voice flat. “So you don’t even know what it is.”

All of a sudden, there came a quiet snort. Holystone held a fist up to his lips to quiet himself, yet failed to reign in his amusement. "How you gonna plead for our help, yet not know what even the enemy's like?" he asked, nearly mocking.

"Y'see what I mean, now?" mutters Eastwick.

"Nah, I already got that. It's just, why talk 'bout an impendin' doomsday when you aren't even prepared for it?"

\-----

Iridian closed the door behind them as they walk into the tavern, enjoying the lantern-lit almost quiet ambiance due to the tavern being less crowded. It reminded them a bit of the pubs back home. They walked up to where Isabella was and laid a few gold coins down on the bar. "two of whatever you got that's not alcohol," they said, before turning back to the death wizard. Isabella turned her attention towards Iridian.

“So, what do you think this big thing trying to destroy the spiral even is?” she asked, swinging her feet.

Iridian sighed. "I have no clue. If they'd allow me to go into the meeting, maybe I'd get a grasp of what's happening." They nodded in gratitude to the tavernkeep who settled down theirs and Isabella's drinks, then slid Isabella's drink to where her barstool was. They took a sip of theirs, and smacked their lips and looked down into the glass. "Sorry, I should've been more specific with my order, this probably isn't to your tastes."

Isabella looked down at her drink and then took a big sip of it. Her eyes went wide. “Are you kidding me? This is better than any of the stuff they have in Wizard City!” She set it back down on the bar in front of her enthusiastically, making a little bit of it spill over the edge, and Iridian smiled. Isabella paused for a minute while staring at her drink and then looked back up at Iridian. “Meh, it’s probably just some evil wizard thing again. Hopefully this time we don’t have to chase this ‘thing’ halfway around the spiral like the last two.” She let out a small laugh, trying to make light of the situation. Iridian looked down into their glass. Normally they would’ve gone along with joking about the whole ordeal, but something seemed off.

"From what I've heard, there are whole ports going down, and nothing we've dealt with in Wizard City has ever really affected ordinary people and the pirates of Skull Island and beyond. I think it's a lot bigger than a person. Perhaps whatever this thing is, it's beyond our understanding so far." Iridian thought out loud, before blinking and looking back up at the death wizard, before taking a hasty sip of their drink, "But, uh, that's just what I think."

Isabella’s normally cheerful expression turned into a concerned one, and she turned to Iridian in her seat. “What if we won’t be able to stop it? Maybe the spiral is going to end!” she said, louder than intended, attracting some of the bar patrons’ attentions. She and Iridian looked around, and then huddled over their drinks, embarrassed. 

Iridian couldn't deny that possibility, but they didn't want to freak out the younger student more than they already had. Isabella glanced over, and then looked away from Iridian and turned her attention back to her drink. Iridian made quick work of theirs. "Anywho,” they said, “it seems as if the argument's cooled down. When you're done with your drink, I can walk you over,” the life wizard offered. 

\-----

To the pirates’ comments, Corry let out a sigh, shaking his head. “Don’t hang the messenger. An unknown force has risen, and with all the destruction it’s causing it should alarm you as well.” He smoothed out his papers. “I have the prophecy, if you’d like to hear some legitimacy.” His expression was annoyed. Eastwick looked on with an unconcerned smirk.

Halyard raised her paper up as well with a smile. “A prophecy?”

If Jean had had ears, they would have pricked forward. “Let’s hear it, then.”

Corry readied his paper, peering down at it from his glasses. He read slowly and clearly: 

> “The howling floor the furious maw  
Wants the haunting audience  
Take birds from nests unalike  
From various classes  
What do snakes do to rabbits?  
When sun shines dark, it awakens  
But beware it's mother.
> 
> The silent sky the burning lungs  
Hates the healthy witness  
Find them from origin similar  
To the one class  
What do mother rabbits do to snakes?  
When moon wanes, it awakens  
We beware its son.”

He let silence fill the room, the gravity of the situation setting in. Everyone was quiet. Across the table, a chair creaked as Jean shifted, but he swallowed his words, instead chewing more on what Corrvin had said. He cast a glance around to the others’ faces, waiting for someone to break the grim silence that had settled around them like a blanket.

The only reaction Eastwick made was a low whistle. "Ooh, scary stuff. Far, what d'you think?"

"Just sounds like a shit ton of work, I'm almost dreadin' it."

"Agreed. Ah, these wizards better pay us good, I swear..."

"That's odd." Halyard said suddenly, unfolding her sheet of paper. "The prophecy we received from our oracle contact only had the second half of that." On the page was printed text beginning at 'The silent sky' and ending at 'beware its son.' "Where did you get that prophecy?"

“From the council,” he seemed surprised. “I didn’t glance it over once it was given to me-“ His brows furrowed, the man obviously worried.

"The council? The Arcanum, right?"

“Indeed,” he nodded to Halyard, resting his chin in his hands.

"When the moon wanes," began Amirah. "The moon will began to wane within a week. That is when it awakens, yes?" Her tone was serious. "We do not have much time."

"But 'when the sun shines dark'? There's no eclipse scheduled any time soon," Halyard frowned. 

Iceglade tapped the table to draw attention to herself. "Unless that doesn't matter," she said, "because there are ways to artificially cause an event like that. Many old heavy-magic spells can do that just as a side effect."

Corrvin nodded to Iceglade. “It’s difficult, but tales of old moon mages causing eclipses have always ended in catastrophe.” Iceglade nodded unenthusiastically back.

“Or something big enough could block it out,” Jean mused. “Ancient things, clouds. Volcanoes. Meteors. Don’t you wizard types study history at all?”

“Prophecies are all up to speculation until they actually happen,” Halyard said to Jean. “At this point? Anything is just as likely as anything else. Lucky for us.” she said sarcastically, and a thoughtful quiet descended over the group again.

\-----

Isabella quickly finished off her drink, put it back down on the bar, and then looked back at Iridian. “Why can’t you come to the meeting?” she asked.

Iridian shifted in their seat. "I think I've mentioned before, I'm just a student assistant here, I have no actual invitation to enter the meeting or give my input. I'm here with Mr. Cloak." they explained simply, getting off their barstool to walk Isabella back to the room.

Isabella continued. “Why don’t you just sneak in?” She had a thoughtful look on her face “You deserve to know what’s going on just as much as Mr. Cloak!” she said confidently, eyes bright and determined. Iridian’s expression grew strange.

"Can't say I haven't considered that option, in fact, I considered it all through the time that it took for Mr. Cloak and me to get here, " Iridian admitted. "But, I've failed others, so I'd rather not betray Mr. Cloak's trust. He's all I really got left here." The life wizard laughed with little to no humor behind it. Isabella still looked concerned. "Anyways, you should get back," they said, offering their arm to the death wizard.

\-----

Eastwick tapped his chin in thought. "Hmm..." he leaned back in his chair once more. "Oi, Vi, how's this prophecy lookin' to ya?"

Out of the blue, a red-haired girl emerged from the shadows in the cellar, a light clinking of jewelry resounding with each feathery step she took. Jean was startled by her sudden appearance from behind him as she silently made her way to stand by her teammates, a reaction Chavi Nightingale, the _Shatterhands_’ wraith, was most certainly familiar with.

"I'm still practicing fortune-telling for you, Captain. I'm no expert yet," she spoke in a soft, husky voice, tinged with a Rajan accent. "But, those words do sound terrible. Forcing an eclipse to start... the ritual spell must be deadly..." she clicked her tongue in distaste.

“How many more folks do you have lurking in the shadows?” Jean asked, equal parts frightened, disgusted, and impressed. 

"Oh, it's just a little habit of Chavi's, poppin' up randomly whenever," Holystone explained with a laugh, as said girl bowed in greeting to Jean. "Vi, you know you can't startle strangers like that, we've discussed this before."

"My apologies, Mister," says Nightingale, but with a deadpan tone like that, it was hard to discern her sincerity. "I merely came to answer my captain's call."

“Hmm,” Jean said, staring suspiciously at the girl and her crew mates. “Fair enough— I know the witchdoctor type, magic users.”

Corry shot Jean a look, then looked to the sky for strength. “Anyway—”

Halyard groaned loudly, cutting Corry off. She looks up from her copy of the rhyme. "Prophecies! Too vague!! Where’re we gonna start’s the question."

Corry gestured to Halyard. “Yes, exactly. Thank you.” He straightened his shirt, nodding. “The council has thought our best plan of action is to… team up. Groups of pirates and wizards alike, to investigate before the week is over.”

"Why are we splitting up?" Iceglade asked— not uninterested, just curious.

“It sounds ridiculous, and in most situations it is— but you were all called here because you’re all capable. Groups will allow us to cover more ground and separate our… losses. If we have any. It’s going to let you pirates use your contacts to the best of your ability… finding a lead is our main priority.”

"Maybe..." began Nightingale, "If we look up at the moon, we can find the enemy there?"

Corry looked at her, lost, then shook his head. “That... no.”

She only gives him an easy shrug in response. "Just a food for thought, Mister."

“And you know, there’s more than one moon for more than one world,” Jean added. 

Halyard held up her hands. "Hold up! Before we go running to our contacts, we need to establish base on what actually is going on in the spiral. Life fountains are being tampered with— in what way? People are going missing— where? What worlds are we talking here?"

“Mirage, Monquista, Marleybone, presumably all of them,” Corry said, leaning forwards. “People are going missing, yes— but there are also esteemed wizards found dead in their homes, crimes being committed in increasing numbers.”

"Crimes that aren't being committed by us," Halyard said under her breath, well aware that they were pirates.

Eastwick huffed a laugh. "Honest. Those are our scores— should be our loot, clearly."

"It's as you say, Captain,” Nightingale replied. “Numerous other crews were acting quite irritated, as of late, ever since this happened."

"Seems like we'll needa steal them back,” Holystone said. “I've been tryna save up for another sword, anyway."

“Ale— uh, a friend of mine mentioned a robbery at their home recently,” Jean broke in. “Valencia for sure has been hit. I’d rather not try to weasel my way back into Valencian politics, but if it’s necessary...”

Nightingale raised a hand to her chin. "Ah, yes. I think Mr. Bobstay had mentioned something about the upper and middle-class residents in Marleybone getting struck, as well. It's driving the Scotland Yard, quote-unquote, 'bonkers'."

“You see what I mean, then.” Corry nodded.

Jean crossed his arms. “Say, Mr. Cloak, what about the factions within the investigating groups? Too many folks worming for information might stir a pot or two.”

“Mm.. you’re right that that could be a problem. It’s all up to us. Working together would be advisable, but all we really want is to keep the Spiral safe.” Corry rubbed a hand under his chin, puzzling over it for a moment. “Who are your regular informants? Do their social circles overlap? We can be careful about this.”

“I know Valencians,” Jean said, “but whether that’s fortunate or not is up to the rest of you. I also have a man who owes me a favor in Puerto Mico, and a couple of contacts, neither Navy nor pirates, in Port Regal.” If Jean was careful, he wouldn’t have to call upon a single Unicorn, because he had a feeling that wouldn’t work out the way he wished.

Halyard tilted her head, glancing across the table. "I'm not sure my contacts are too comfortable with being named, Cloak. Sorry."

Iceglade stepped forwards. "Mine are. I'm connected to an old ring of spies based in Khrysalis. Halyard and I also know some gorgons in Aquila who owe us some favors. And anyone in the frog mafia based in Jonahtown will recognize some names we could drop." Halyard glanced at Iceglade.

Corry nodded. “Talk to each other. If your contacts are anyone, they’ll know about what’s been happening recently. Ensure your contacts don’t gossip with each other, and we won’t have an issue,” Corry said to Jean as an answer to his earlier question. Corry wasn’t used to such a risky plan, but he had figured this was more up the pirate’s alley.

"Besides Skull Island, we know some people in Cool Ranch, they mighta seen a thing or two," Eastwick informed. "Half of 'em owe me a favor, too, anyway... guess we'll have to pay a visit, huh, guys? Though, I doubt Tay'll be down for it."

"You also got our Resistance contact, and some others in Monquista and Marleybone. We should be careful in those places, the former, especially. The royals are still out for our heads."

“We’re pirates,” Halyard said to Holystone. “What would be a world where any royals were not?”

Corry looks over the group, wizards and pirates. This was such a risk— he hoped it would work.

\-----

At the bar, Isabella looked at Iridian’s outstretched arm and then looks back up at Iridian, not accepting defeat. “Come on, Iridian. We’re going to need all the help we can get. Plus, if you’ve failed others then this is your one chance to make something of yourself!” She got up from the barstool, life and fire in the death wizards eyes. “Do you just want to be known as ‘Mr. Cloaks assistant’ your whole life? You need to make something of yourself!” She looked confident for the first time since she has got to Skull Island.

Iridian was caught off-guard by Isabella's comments. A part of them was slightly angered by the death student's assumptions of their what their life had been up to that point, but they practiced civility enough to know when to get angry about something. Isabella was just trying to help. "Trust me, Miss Crow, being known as 'Mr. Cloak's assistant' is a lot better than being solely known for being the Life School's problem child," they stated, an unusual tightness in their voice, as if holding back. "I agree that we need all the help we can get, but the help we need won't come from me." They inhaled deeply and exhaled, "Just, please, let me walk you back so you can announce in your final input before the meeting ends."

Isabella looking at Iridian, deflating. The poor girl sighed. “Okay...” she took their hand. “Let’s go!” She gave Iridian a cheerful smile. 

Once her hand was on their arm, Iridian, relieved, walked her towards the room. It was definitely a short walk, but the slight awkwardness of the previous conversation held heavy over the whole of it. They got to the curtain that, behind it, lead to the room of wizards and pirates deciding what to do now that there's a threat to all they hold dear. Iridian removed their arm from Isabella's hand and stepped back. "I guess we might see each other again later on the adventure?"

Isabella flashed a sweet, sad look to Iridian, then turned around and crossed the curtain, quietly entering the room. She made her way to the group of spiral-inhabitants and quietly sat down, cheerful mood and anxiety sobered, hoping nobody had noticed her absence. Iridian lingered one more moment after Isabella entered the room, just one selfish moment to hear at least just one second what they were talking about what idea they've brought to the table.

As everyone spoke amongst themselves, at the head of the table, Corrvin silently made note of Isabella, nodding to her and letting a glance slide over to Iridian—a passive one, of course—acknowledging their presence but not banishing them. Iridian nodded at Mr. Cloak, making a clear motion to tap the pocket watch in their pocket, wordlessly indicating that it's been quite a while since the meeting began. They flashed one more small smile to Isabella in farewell before leaving the area.

Corry turned back to the group. “If you all can grasp the gravity of the situation, then we can get started with assignments? This is… a time sensitive issue. One week,” he nodded to Amirah.

“One week, no problem!” Isabella said with a confident smile, pepping herself back up and trying to act as if she’s been there the whole time.

“Optimistic, but—” he chided the young wizard gently. “We’ll set benchmarks. Two days to find who may be causing this, two and a half to find out where they are based, and two and a half to see if they are defeatable… and defeat them.”

"Goodness," Halyard said, turning the task over in her head, thoughtful.

Isabella felt the mood of the room. “It’s probably the old cliché, rejected Ravenwood teacher that we’ll have to chase around the spiral again,” she said.

“Maybe so, but we can’t take that chance.” Corry shook his head. “And even if it was, they would have to be stopped.”

“Then we’ll stop them.” Isabella’s young hope, despite everything, did lighten the mood of the room.

"Wouldn't that be wild, though? Another Ravenwood alumni," Iceglade said, leaning over the table besides Halyard towards Isabella. "Or maybe this time, another clockwork man." 

Halyard shifted in her chair. "Don't even joke about that," she said, voice both amused and horrified. Iceglade put her hand on Halyard's shoulder apologetically.

"Wouldn’t be too surprised. The Armada’ll do anythin’ for the sake of their lil’ experiments,” a layer of sarcasm coats Eastwick's tones, clearly embittered.

Corry shrugged. “Whoever they are, I’m sure once we’ve taken care of this danger, the Armada will seem like a piece of cake.” It was meant as a joke, but all the pirate folk in the room immediately sobered. The wizards in the room paused, noticing.

Jean spoke up: “It’s probably something darker. We pirates have things you wizards couldn’t even begin to imagine.” he stared at his hands, reminded of the acrid smell of that other existence he’d seen in Cool Ranch, the eyes that had bored through him alongside the scorpion’s stinger. “Worse things than even the Armada, should they choose to notice us. And maybe they have.”

Halyard and Iceglade glanced at Jean, then looked at each other— Halyard looked curious, Iceglade looked concerned. Isabella began to say something to Jean, but then stopped before she let the words come out and decided to stay quiet. Similarly, the three members of the _Shatterhands_ wore expressions just as grim as Jean's— being fellow pirates themselves, who've been targeted by the Armada so often, they can't even remember how many situations they've been put through by them. Hollow men who neither eat, sleep, nor breathe... who'll never rest until they lay waste to their prey, until every single world is just as cold and lifeless as them. Could there be an even worse enemy?

Holystone and Nightingale gave a quick glance at each other. 'Shouldn't dwell on them too long, now. It wouldn't be good for Jules here.'

…Perhaps Corry struck a nerve with the Armada. He surveys the expressions around the room, curiosity piqued. “Regardless of how powerful they are, we have to start somewhere. Select your leads amongst yourselves, and get hunting. We reconvene here in two days time.”

Isabella looked around the room at everyone chatting. The task seemed to be gearing up to be a big one. Everyone seemed so up for it... “Great,” she mumbled to herself, watching the crowd plan. She sighed. Still, everything would surely be fine.

Outside, the wind picked up, and the hungry crows took to the skies. The Spiral’s best and brightest planned amongst themselves for over an hour.


	2. DAY 2 - defeat and collect

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Two ships recklessly dodged and swung about like circling birds - the boarding battle has begun. Swinging over the gap or running over the boarding planks, the group of pirates and wizards engaged the Monquistan ship's crew in battle. The goal: capture the ship's captain alive for interrogation._
> 
> Defeat and Collect  
\- Monquistan Ships  
\- 9/10 Information  
Monquista  
Tierra Primata Skyway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, here's part 1 of day 2. This chapter marks the start of the first few violent parts - during the rp, we decided that we were gonna have some fun with dark stuff, because pirate101 boasts a rougher crowd than wizard101 does. Makes sense, given the themes and the target demographic. 
> 
> Warnings include **violent combat, electrocution, the aftermath**. Nothing really happens to the main characters though, just to their enemies. We planned on going more into the values differences between wizards and pirates and... yeah. more on that in the next chapter, etc etc,
> 
> Even though it'e gonna get dark at times, we tried to keep it all whimsical and fun. We hope you enjoy!

DAY 2 _Two ships recklessly dodged and swung about like circling birds - the boarding battle has begun. Swinging over the gap or running over the boarding planks, the group of pirates and wizards engaged the Monquistan ship's crew in battle. The goal: capture the ship's captain alive for interrogation._

\-----

Corrvin had certainly never boarded a pirate ship― but he wasn't ashamed to call it a first. Using two beats of his powerful wings, he allowed his jump to carry much farther from their ship, landing on the balustrade of the enemy's vessel. He brandished a pen, spreading his wings wide open as he drew a sigil in the air, whooshing some poor Monquistan into one of their cargo crates.

The moonmancer kept a close eye on Iridian, sidestepping a swinging Monquistan and tripping him onto the deck, pulling his tie just a little tighter around his neck. Corrvin moved towards the entrance to the lower deck, dodging a very violent swing from one of the monkeys.

Iridian slid down the boarding plank and almost immediately had to dodge a poleax that would've cut their ribcage in half otherwise. "Holy shit, alright then," they responded, getting far enough away from the much smaller enemy after kicking them square in the face. They backed up towards the mast of the ship and grabbed a supposedly abandoned wooden pole. It wasn't a sword, but it'd have to do.

Iridian looked back up the monkey they'd just kicked and before they knew it, another poleax was thrown their way, this time narrowly missing their ear and lodging itself in the ship's mast with a thud. "What― you left your other poleax over the―" the life wizard tried to say, motioning to where the boarding plank was, looking back to find that this Monquistan soldier had quite a lot of poleaxes on him, one in each hand at the moment.

"I'm not big on pirate lingo― but I'll assume you're what they call a swashbuckler?" Iridian managed, before the monkey began swinging at them with both poleaxes. Iridian countered with their newly found wooden pole, using it to try and lodge the attacking weapons. "Okay, yes! Definitely a swashbuckler!"

Nearby, Halyard gave a delighted, vicious 'whoop!' and vaulted right over the gap between the ships, and solidly plants a boot right into the face of an enemy spearman nearby. "Buccaneer?" she suggested to Iridian from across the deck, slightly out of breath, and threw some crossbowman overboard.

Corrvin managed to duck and avoid his assailant, sweeping the leg and rising just to see Iridian in danger's grasp. He hesitates, a sigil hovering in midair― just in case Iridian needed it.

From her perch high on the _Dread Oracle’s_ rafters, Iceglade surveyed the fighting field. 

Back at the tavern, everyone had pitched their ideas for leads, and with guidance from Amirah’s future insight, the group headed to monquista for some defeat and collect. Iridian had joined them and stuck along. Halyard’s ship was connected fast to the defending ship with hard ice bonds: Iceglade’s magic. It glittered cold blue against the inescapably orange Monquistan skyline, and Iceglade spun her staff, planning. Spotting Iridian in a clumsy spot, she twirled it, gesturing a sigil, and sent them―a small trick she learnt from a Marleybonian ex-navy man, just a little bit of power―a strength buff, for safety.

Iridian had been blocking the enemy soldier's attacks with the wooden pole for a couple moves now, throwing their body this way and that to avoid any violent slashes. They were surprised with the strength held their arms, coming from a supposedly unknown source. They backed up towards the edge of the ship, and the enemy got faster. He slashed harder at the wooden pole, which was splintering more and more with every attack. Finally, when he had Iridian at the edge, prepared to deliver the final swing now that they were cornered, the life wizard simply rasped in response, "Not so fast, buddy," and before the enemy knew it, Iridian had applied pressure to the wooden pole, splintering it, breaking it into two, folding it up, and trapping the poleaxes. Iridian dropped the ends of the broken pole and uses their hand position to grab the handles of his two poleaxes, and slashed at the monkey's face before they could grab more.

Iridian watched as the enemy soldier fell to the ground, then lodged one of the poleaxes in the side loop of their belt. They were about to walk off until they saw something glimmer on the monkey's weapon belt. Iridian quickly went over to check it and found an old, fancily engraved pistol kept in an equally fancy gun holster. The gun was beautiful, of Monquistan origin. Iridian checked it, fully loaded. They got the glimmer of an idea in their eye. "Alright, I can work with this."

Having crashed the party already, Eastwick made a grunt as he and his team weaved and flipped their way around the numerous Monquistan soldiers. It was a furious dance of their blades against the enemies'― an expert slash from Holystone here, and a harsh clang from Xanderman there. All the while, the other two _Shatterhands_ members―Silver and Nightingale―had taken over the crow's nest once its arbelist was disposed of, and kept firing off bullets and spells from above.__

_ _An irritated expression contorted the captain's normally attractive face― he never did like, ahem, _interacting_ with a majority of the people from Monquista. They're always making things so difficult for him― especially those blasted royals, who should just behead him _themselves_, if they're so damn adamant about putting his head on a golden mount. (Lazy bastards, all of 'em)._____ _

_ _ _ _ _ _By the bow, Iridian heard the impending footsteps of the soldier before they even attacked. The life wizard turned their body in a flash and held their newly obtained pistol straight and true, pulling the trigger and landing a shot straight in the monkey's chest, sending him down to the deck. Iridian looks shocked before looking back at the pistol again. "Things just got a whole lot better!” they thought out loud with a small, coy smile, before immediately turning and firing hot electricity into the next soldier who approached them._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Meanwhile on the _Dread Halyard_, Amirah had already wasted too much time preparing for the upcoming fight. Her companions―wizard and pirate alike―had already boarded the enemy ship, beginning the assault on the Monquistans. The only one remaining was the young wizard Isabella, who had been suggested to join late, for safety reasons. Amirah’s future foresight intuition told her that the young wizard would not follow that suggestion. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Amirah worried not. WIth her scimitar holstered at her side resting within its scabbard, she headed above onto the main deck of the hero ship. She surveyed the fighting with a careful eye; many Monquistans had already perished, yet many remained. The enemy soldiers were focused on her allies, so the lunarmancer decided entering the battlefield from above would give her the advantage over the Monquistans. Amirah gathered her magic, charging it in what would hopefully be a useful spell. As the moon sigil was cast, her body was illuminated by lunar magic, beginning to transform in accordance to her wishes. As the light faded, her form changed, taking the form of a large snowy owl. Stretching her wings, she prepared for flight._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _The sight of an owl suddenly flying about had Silver cocked an eyebrow, rather surprised. He's not much of a magic expert―the only 'spell' he knows being 'shoot'―so anyone transforming into anything is a bit new to him. "Owl, huh? It ain't like Vi's magic, but guess it'll have to do." he mused to himself, his aim steadied, and delivered another calculated shot through a monkey's brain._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Iridian dodged an aggressive swipe of a poleax, hugging their forearms close to their chest, pistol in hand. The life wizard swung their leg up and kicked the enemy soldier in the face hard enough to knock him down. They were about to shoot when they felt a powerful and quite unexpected flourish of magical aura in the air. Sure enough, Iridian looked upwards and their eyes widened at the sight of one big snowy owl. "Alright, cool, no one told me she could do that, but cool," they mumbled to themselves as Amirah’s shadow blocked out the sun for a weightless moment. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _With a few powerful beats of her wings, the lunarmancer ascended before the marksmen could surround her, barely missing an arrow fired in her direction. Reaching the crows nest, she dodged oncoming arrows, waiting until each soldier had fired before swooping down again, repeating her previous actions and taking another Monquistan in her sharp claws, throwing them overboard. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Below, extending their arm back without looking, Iridian shot the Monquistan soldier they had knocked down, who was making an attempt to stand up._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Deciding while she still had time before the monkey marksmen reloaded, she quickly transformed back into her normal form, her magic surrounding her with another burst of light. When the light dissipated, Amirah brandished her scimitar, slicing the arm of one of the Monquistans in which they held their crossbow, making the monkey release it before swiping at their chest._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _\-----_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Meanwhile, Isabella, still on the ally ship, examined her deck of cards. She pulled a few cards out and quickly shoved them back into her robe and turned her attention to the battle, noticing all her allies that had made their way onto the enemy. With a confident look, she made her way towards the enemy ship. She had never done anything like this, but she didn’t want to be the odd one out. She carefully crossed the planks towards where the two pirate captains, Eastwick and Halyard, were fighting, almost losing her balance a couple of times. As she arrived on the enemy ship, she confidently jumped off the plank onto the ship and immediately tripped, landing right on top of the Monquistan Halyard had been fighting with a squeak._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Halyard lifted Isabella gently off the stunned monkey. A few feet away, one monkey was given a swift kick by the _Shatterhands_ captain. He flipped over to where Isabella was at, landing on the floored Monquistan’s face, taking him out as well. "Careful there," he warned. "Dunno if Ravenwood students know any close-combat, so you best watch yourself as you're casting magic and what-not."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Isabella, still dazed from her fall, looked at the two pirates. She gave Eastwick a smile, “Thanks… teammate!” _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Halyard set Isabella down. Better not let a kid stay in real danger up here on deck. "Hello, wizard. Everyone seems to be clearing things nicely up here. Would you like to accompany me to the back to check the lower quarters for stragglers?"_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _She turned her attention to Halyard. “I’d love to come with you!” She looked down at the Monquistan she had accidentally knocked down, who was now knocked out. “...but I don’t think I can be much help to you.” She turned back to Halyard and gave a shy, embarrassed smile._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"It's alright, I don't expect too much of a fight. It's less likely to get violent with someone else there." She smiled back, and the swaggering Eastwick ruffled the kid’s hair in playful comfort telling her not to sweat it, stalking off to engage in the fight where the rest of his crew was. "You're just there to look intimidating. You can look intimidating, right?"_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Isabella felt the top of her hair where Eastwick was patting it, making sure it was still in nice shape, her attention still turned towards Halyard. “Um...I think I can be intimidating...” she tried to make an angry expression, but it turned out to look more like a wince. “Yeah! I can be intimidating!” She smiled. Halyard grinned._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _\-----_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Corry visibly relaxed as Iridian shot off their Monquistan enemies, and used his remaining sigil to launch one of the last attackers off board. The wizard peered down the stairs at the other end from where Halyard and Isabella were to the lower decks, and figured there'd be more enemies downstairs. "I'm heading to the front of the ship to the captain’s quarters, if anyone would like to accompany me," he nodded to his allies._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _The _Shatterhands_ captain glanced over his shoulder to address Corrvin, "Ah, you should prob'ly bring Vi with you. She can help you locate the enemies and get you to the captain faster."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"I'll take all the help I can get," Corry nodded to Eastwick, flipping his pen through his fingers impatiently. "Anyone can come along. I just wanna get the jump on them first before the captain gets the bright idea to deadbolt lock the door."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _With a nod, Eastwick quickly let out a high-pitched whistle. "Vi, leave your post for now," he called out. "Angel-man here needs ya."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _On cue, dark smoke bursts forth to reveal said red-headed girl. Nightingale does a small bow for Corrvin, the blank look in her kaleidoscope eyes present as ever. "I shall watch after your back and fend off the enemies from there," promised she, her voice as soft as a whisper in a temple. "It wouldn't be good if they rip off your wings, after all."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"No need for the formalities," he nodded with a nervous smile. She seemed… dreamy. He only hoped she'd be able to hold true to her assurance. Corrvin nodded, sending his allies a mock two-fingered salute before heading downstairs._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Iridian wiped a newly-acquired bloody nose from their head being thrown against the deck of the ship by a Monquistan soldier and looks upwards, giving Corrvin a two-fingered salute back, which Corry did not see, because he had already turned. _‘Ah fuck,’_ thought Iridian, and immediately turned their body with an outstretched arm and landed a shot straight into a monkey's forehead._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Down into the hull, Nightingale followed after Corrvin with breeze-like grace, carefully stepping over the fallen bodies of Monquistans, black mist readied at her fingertips. She deeply inhaled the air of the area for clues, and when her eyes popped open they had started to glow a light blue. "As expected, the captain barricaded himself in his own quarters," she informed, nose twitching for a light sniff. "A dozen soldiers are inside guarding him, while another twenty or so are scattered throughout the hall." clicking her tongue, she added, "I'd say our best course of action's to charge them head-on, since it's so cramped and narrow down here, anyway."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Corry was surprised by her calculations. Must be very useful in Eastwick’s crew, having someone so strategic. "If you say so," he nodded over his shoulder, walking briskly through the corridors. "How'd you know that?"_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"I've trained myself on how to sense for other people's presence," explained Nightingale. "It's helpful for when you're exploring or negotiating in enemy territory." There came that small clinking from her movements, bangles and anklets shining under the little bits of light through the floorboards. "Luckily, it doesn't happen often, as most know not to make light of Captain, but for those who do," when she glanced at him, no matter how briefly, something unsettling twinkled within her gaze. "Ah... let's just say they don't, anymore..."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Corrvin crept along the wall, footsteps making quiet creaks. While Nightingale said that the best plan of action was a straight charge forwards, he always thought stealth was the best way to go. Just until he reached a corner and barely missed a swing from a very, very angry monkey._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Luckily for Corrvin, his ally acted fast, pushing him into the wall, surprisingly gently. Corrvin let out a surprised grunt, swallowing as the blade came inches away from the both of them, and Nightingale used her free hand to block the incoming attack. The blade would've drawn out bleeding cuts, had it struck anybody else, but the henna marking Nightingale’s skin was no ordinary dye. It glowed and sent the Monquistan flying back violently, making him collide into his compatriot behind him like a bowling strike._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _“Stealth was... perhaps not the best plan,” Corry allowed._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"Told you so," Nightingale responded, not unkindly, and brushed some dust off Corrvin's suit._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Corrvin let out a soft sigh, fixing his suit before continuing on at a quicker pace. Just―gonna pretend it didn't happen. The Monquistans seem to number up, and while their goal was closer now, they'd still have to go through the Monquistans._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _\-----_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Jean tossed yet another furious and terrified monkey sailor overboard with a grim expression drawn across his face, whipping to the side in the next instant to avoid being stabbed in the calf by another soldier. This one he tripped, slicing through their leather armor with little trouble. The marksmen were reloading at this point, crossbows trained on him and the others, and he shouted a warning before squirreling his way up into the rigging, moving quickly across the ship to drop near Iridian, standing back to back with the wizard with his blades at the ready for the next wave of sailors to come toward them._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _“How many more of them are there? I swear we’ve gone through half the ship already...”_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Iridian held their pistol fast to their chest and looked around at the replenished wave of enemies from somewhere, keeping their back steady to the older pirate, "Fuck if I know," they grumbled, shooting another soldier who got too close for comfort. The buffs from Iceglade that rained upon everyone helped, but would it be enough?_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Surveying from above, Amirah circled the enemy ship. Several Monquistan soldiers were advancing on her allies. Tucking her wings, she quickly swooped down, extending her claws as she targeted a marksman. Grabbing the Monquistan by the neck, she beat her wings, returning to the sky, and dropping the soldier overboard, letting him fall into the clouds below. Landing on the deck, Amirah let out a powerful screech, hoping to grab the attention of the marksman before they could fire on her allies._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _One of them fired at Amirah, the arrow nearly grazing her arm as she quickly rolled out of the way. She lands behind the Monquistan, striking the soldier in the back, before turning to face the next. She fires a burst of lunar magic at the monkey, sending them flying back, rolling towards the edge of the ship. In the next second, she reached them, kicking them off the side of the ship. Seeing another group of soldiers advancing towards her, she quickly moved out of the way, in case they intended to charge her and push her off the edge._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Jean had very rapidly become accustomed to wizards’ quirks, but he still blinked in surprise at the owl on deck. Iridian did not. "Okay, Owl Amirah has the marksmen distracted, I think this is our chance," Iridian panted, looking down at their stolen pistol, eye tracing the intricate engravings carved into the barrel. They got a sudden idea, outlandish but it might work. "Stupid question time, you think this pistol can conduct magic?" They asked the pirate standing against their back._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _“I don’t know about Wizard magic, but anything you’ve got that’s lightning should work. Give it a shot?” Jean suggested, then made a face behind his mask. “Um. No pun intended.”_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Storm spells, what did they remember about storm spells? Nothing too complicated, the gun might destroy itself, Iridian reminded theirself, wracking their brain for any simple lightning spell that would work. They came out of their zone for a second and noticed the crowd of soldiers getting closer and closer. "I can figure something out, but I'm gonna need you to cover me." Iridian said, growing more nervous with each new Monquistan soldier they spotted._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _“Do what you need to do!” A group of three Monquistans leapt at Jean, and he began beating them back with measured strikes. He kept Iridian in his peripheral, and when the opportunity arose, he pulled a rose from within his jacket, crushing the petals and tossing them into the air. The scent filled the space around him, and as he and Iridian took on a faint shimmer, the soldiers reeled back in confusion._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _“You’re in the shadows until you attack,” Jean explained hurriedly. “I’m going to pop out in a few seconds, and I won’t be able to see you as well when I do. Try not to shoot me, right?”_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"'Course," Iridian replies hastily, mentally running through all the storm spells they'd learned in their time at Ravenwood. Jean disappeared. Then suddenly, it struck them (pun intended). Iridian eyed a couple of unattended water buckets, most likely used for swabbing the deck._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"Convenient." they murmured to themselves. Hopefully this shimmery rose cloud moves with me, they thought as they scooted over to where the water buckets were and started knocking them over toward the soldiers, the deck beneath their feet started pooling with water. When they decided that would be enough, they took a deep breath and readied themselves, pistol in hand, and started focusing on the storm magic. ‘Hope this works.’_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _\-----_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"My, the main deck sounds very lively," Nightingale hummed out in thought as she and Corrvin barreled through the halls, and knocking down numerous monkeys while at it. "I wonder if Captain'll grow irritated enough to make Tay drop his new bombs on the ship. He's been wanting to test it out for a while now, too..."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"New bombs―?" Corrvin was about to ask, but then was distracted by having to blast a few Monquistans against the walls of the ship, huffing. "Good lord, there's so many of these little bastards." Corry could see the door to the captain's deck, though― home stretch!_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"Aye. Besides firearms, Tay claims that explosions are his 'second best love'," the red-head managed to make liberal use of air quotes even as she twirled and blasted the monkeys' faces with shadow-dripped hands. "He's very proud of his creations, and spends much of his time making them, if we're not busy exploring or fighting, at the moment."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Corrvin noted to himself how wildly good she was at closer combat― he was used to the circling, and relatively fair, way that wizards dueled. Taking some pages from Nightingale’s book, he tried doubling his attacks against habit, caring not for how turns might work. The moonmancer managed to toss a Monquistan directly into Corrvin’s spells, incapacitating them thoroughly. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"You have some new moves up your sleeves, I noticed," the witchdoctor commented, and Corrvin smiled softly as she commented on his move. Once she blocked a flailing poleaxe and sent its wielder a sweeping kick, she paused to make another deep inhale like from earlier. "Prepare for the finale, Mr. Wings." her eyes, which now took on a purple glow, were serious despite its casual aloofness. "The Monquistans in the captain's quarters are surrounding him, now... about half of them are buccaneers, while the others are crossbowmen. I'd guess their first action will be to fire at us the moment we open the door, so I'll make sure to have a shield intact then."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Corrvin nodded to Nightingale. "Sounds like nothing we haven't dealt with before," he huffed. Corrvin's hand rests on the doorknob, nodding to Nightingale. "Ready?"_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Nodding back, Nightingale goes into a ready stance, a dark mist began to swirl around them protectively. "Ready when you are, Mr. Wings."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _He felt surprisingly safe in Nightingale’s conjured shadows―_‘What kind of magic is this?’_―breathing out before he whipped the door open. She was right― what faced them were monkeys, armed with crossbows and swords. He flinched backwards, reflexively trying to dodge as the sprung arrows collided into Nightingale’s smoky shield. Corrvin began to draw a sigil, hoping the energy from the shield would hold up enough._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _\-----_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Iridian finally had the spell focused in the gun, feeling the electricity coarse through the firearm. Small fizzes of lightning came off the pistol as Iridian slowly removed their free hand from the handle and extends their arm slightly upwards. "Jean, buddy, you might wanna step away from that water." they warn, backing away from the water themselves._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _“Noted.” Visible, Jean backpedaled, allowing a defeated enemy to roll away. He’d have a hard time scrubbing the grime off his hands tonight, not that it was any different than he was used to. “Whenever you’re ready.” His eyes had trouble focusing on Iridian, the rose fog still clinging to them though it had faded from him almost as soon as he’d cast it._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Iridian took a deep breath and pulled the trigger of the magic-charged pistol. The shot, immediately after being fired, stopped being a regular shot. It turned into a white-hot glowing shape hovering in the air for a moment, before blinding cracks of lightning branches from it, striking the ground below. The water that Iridian had tossed onto the deck brightened with electricity. All Monquistan soldiers who didn't get the memo before Iridian had fired the gun were getting fried._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Amirah's attention was caught by the burst of light fired from Iridian's pistol, and she watched from a distance as the storm magic hit the water, effectively frying all the Monquistans that had been too busy fighting to notice the plan that had been set in motion. "Quite a strategic move, Iridian!" Amirah called, parrying a blow from a poleax coming her way. She sidestepped her foe, grabbing the staff of the poleax and using her strength to rip it from her enemy's hands, which wasn't all that hard, considering how small the Monquistans were to her. She threw the poleax aside, throwing it into the pool of water to fry with the unfortunate Monquistans. Using her scimitar to swiftly cut down her foe, she retreated back towards Iridian and Jean, being careful not to step in the electrically-charged water._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Iridian rubbed their one eye. "Fuck that was bright," they grumbled, pausing to blink a few times to get rid of any visual snow. They looked towards the older wizard. "Cool, you're not a big owl anymore,” the wizard said absentmindedly, before looking down at their hand, which was still sparking with electricity. _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Amirah smiled. "Yes, lunarmancy allows one to morph their body to their needs and desires. It's often quite useful when one requires a different set of skills unlike their own, or simply needs a disguise for an extra measure of stealth," she explained, before adding a quick, "In all honesty though, I simply enjoy that form in particular." She giggled. "A lovely breeze up there." _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Iridian gazed upon the monquistan soldiers that were lying on the watery deck. Only then did they think of what Corry would have said. Well. They probably would’ve done it anyway. "So, uh," they start, "I think that's most of them."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Eyes following Iridian's gaze, Amirah glanced at the scattered monkeys littering the deck. "Yes, it is. Shall we head below as well? The others may need extra help."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _“Guess so,” Iridian shrugged, looking around a little bit more to see if there were any remaining soldiers left on the main deck. They wiped their bloody nose on the back of their pistol hand, immediately shocking their face._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _By the puddles, ”_Fuck_,” Jean exclaimed, rolling one of the dead Monquistans onto their back with his right boot. His face twisted into a mixture of admiration and fear as he sheathed his dagger, though he kept his sword drawn. “Remind me not to intentionally piss you off, Iridian.” As he followed the two wizards to the hatch leading below deck, he adds in a mutter that was more to himself than to anyone else, “Never met someone who calls themselves life and instead brings death.”_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Holystone released a chuckle at Jean's remark, brushing his tangled hair back with sweaty, bloodied fingers. "Got that right," he agreed, popping the kinks out in his neck. "Are all life wizards secretly sadists, or are you just a special case?"_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"Eh, I try my best," Iridian replied simply with a shrug, a small smile on their face. They flip the pistol in their hand just for a bit of flair before hooking it in the loop of their belt, which acted like a makeshift holster. As they made their way down the steps, Iridian tightened the bandages on their forearms and swiped away a bit of blood dripping from their lips. "Shit, they did more of a number on me than I thought they would. Monquistans may be short, but fuck if that doesn't give them a perfect shot at one good punch in the gut."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _“And when they brand you a criminal, it gets even worse than this. At least there’s none of the Monquisition here.” Jean’s lip curls into a snarl and he squints as he recalled the feeling of the monks’ staff slamming into his legs. “Little bastards. Best to avoid Monquistans in general. More backstabbing than Valencians, and that’s saying something.”_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"I grew up in the backstreets of Marleybone where the local mafia had maximum occupation, I think we're cool," Iridian responded, adjusting the height of their sleeves. They stopped when they'd reached the bottom of the stairs. The first thing they saw were the bodies, unconscious or not, that littered the narrow hallway. The loudest sound in the hallway were the groups’ own footsteps. "Well, looks like Mr. Cloak and Chavi got through here just fine."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _The blonde one from Eastwick’s crew, Xanderman, made a snicker of amusement. "Well, that's one way tae put it," flicking the blood off its blade, she returned her sword back into the sheath. She glanced at the others and gestured at the floor, "Mind yer step, everyone, don't want tae disrespect the dead and all. Else they'll come back tae haunt ye or whatever."_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _\-----_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Isabella was stalking the halls of the belowdeck along with Halyard. She quietly shuffled through a deck of cards, occasionally pulling some out and putting them back into her robe. She had not been paying attention to where she was walking when she suddenly came to a stop. She looked around the narrow hall. “Um, Miss Pirate...” she turned her attention to her companion, “Does it seem eerily quiet to you here?” she questioned._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _Halyard raised a finger to her lips, shooting Isabella a quick glance in the dark gold light of the creaking hallway. She put her hand by her ear, miming listen. There were shuffling sounds coming from an ornate door up ahead, hard to hear, but once noticed, hard to ignore. A muffled woman's voice broke the quiet, speaking urgent and haughty Monquistan._ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"Look, you idiot, compare the towns―this district is greatly affected. My uncle―"_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _A man's voice, stuttery and timid, "My, your grace, I―we understand about your uncle, but the citizens are m-more important―"_ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _"More _important_?"―a thud and a rattle―"The nobility will _always_ be more important than common folk. This carelessness is exactly why nobility do not use ordinary transportation forms. Look at what has happened!"___ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _“What shall we do?” Isabella whispered, “Are we going to charge in there?” she softly asked, tightening her grasp around her wand, ready for an attack._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Halyard looked back at her, and then waved her forward. The two of them crept closer to the door._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Ears pressed against the door, Halyard and Isabella listened― Isabella peeked through the keyhole. Two people stood over a table covered in paper maps. One, the lady Monquistan noble, stood as haughtily as she could for someone standing on a chair, poking at the pages on the table. The other, a crab man in a page's garb, paced anxiously in and out of sight._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _\-----_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Nightingale muttered, "Here we are once more," (_‘Huh, so there are moments of irritation from her,'_ noted Corrvin) and proceeded to raise one hand in the air. All of a sudden, things grew dark, with only Corrvin's magic giving out light, a series of unnatural groans and wails echoing across the captain's quarters. Some of the more aware soldiers halted, their heads spinning and tails twitching in fear. One particular monkey, dressed in Captain’s colors, stuttered out: "Wh-what in the queen's name―"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __"Sing,"_ dark green smoke seeped from the witch doctor's lips, her red hair flying up wildly like snakes from a gorgon's head. _"Sing for thee a song of mourning,"_ she hissed, and as if things couldn't get any more terrifying, numerous glowing, bone dragons rose up from beneath the carpeted floor. _"And dance with mine enemies into eternal damnation."__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Corvi’s sigil flickered in the dark, focus stolen by the literal hell skeletons rising from the floor. His wings twitched, folding further behind him, and mentally swore in horror._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _It seems the Monquistan soldiers were in agreement with him, as they collectively did one of two things: 1) ran away like hell, or 2) swung their weapons about in frightened panic. None did any good to fend off the bone dragons, as they flew in various directions with bullet-like speed, screeching in their faces and stabbing finely-sharp claws into their furred flesh._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"You incompetent mongrels!" shrieked the captain― though, also seemingly ready to piss his golden armor by the ghostly display. "Those two, filthy pirates! Focus on killing them, instead!"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _However… encouraging the captain thought he was being, it'd all be for naught. Corrvin sent his sigil directly into the Monquistan's chest, polymorphing his armor into a chain around his arms and waist― it seems he was all tied up._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"What the―!?" immediately, the captain struggled in an effort most futile. "I demand you unhand me, now, you barbaric degenerate―"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Nightingale makes a click of her tongue, her eyes narrowed in subtle disapproval. "I'm afraid you're being very rude, right now," she quipped and traced a straight line in the air, effectively shutting up the monkey's insults. "There, much better. Don't you agree, Mr. Wings?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Corrvin would not usually take such measures, but he had to admit that Nightingale’s bluntness would save him a monkey-induced headache later on. "I agree, oddly enough. Is that all we've come for? Anything you need to plunder?" He half-joked, striding over to the Monquistan and tugging at his back chains to urge him to follow._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _\-----_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Iridian took a deep breath and started stepping over the monkey bodies, "Yeesh, this must've been some close-quarters combat." they thought out loud to themselves, almost tripping on some soldier's limp arm._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Eastwick whistled lowly at the sight of carnage. "Man, they sure made a real mess down here," he wrinkled his nose with a mix of slight disgust and awe. "Well, least it's better than Tay wantin' to blow us all up."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Both Holystone and Xanderman groaned, "Ugh, now he'll never stop complaining 'bout not usin' those new explosives."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"They sure did," Iridian agreed, recoiling at the putrid smell of a strange kind of magic that seemed to be infesting the narrow hallway completely. "...What kind of magic-user is your Nightingale anyway? The residue of her magic is covering these dead soldiers but I can't put my finger on what it is." The life wizard eyed the bodies, focusing just enough to see the remnants of Nightingale’s aura._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Well, I'm no magic-user, so you'll have to make due with my half-assed explanation," Eastwick released a big huff before continuing, "But anyway, she's a witchdoctor. Hoodoo takes on more arcane forms of magic, 'specially necromancy, right? Well, Vi's also good in usin' what she’s called shadow magic, can generate and solidify it to however she likes. Even Vadima called her strange for it, 'cause shadow's a pretty rare magic in the first place, and not many can fully grasp it like Vi can." he then gave Iridian a shrug. "I'm not too caught up on that part 'bout her, though, but I know I'm glad she's on my side and no one else's― else, I woulda had a terrible time fightin' her."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Well you're definitely one lucky man for that. Shit..." Iridian had to agree. They arrived at the end of the hallway where there was a door, slightly ajar, magic wafting through it like invisible smoke. Mr. Cloak and Nightingale must've gone through here, they thought as they stepped over the last monkey before reaching the door. There were no audible sounds of fighting. They pushed said door the rest of the way open with a flat palm against the tempered wood. "Pirates first." they offered, a playful politeness to their voice._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Eastwick snickered. "Scared 'bout what you'll see from her?" he teased, but obliged their offer and swaggered into the captain's quarters. "Yo, Vi, Angel-man! Went a lil' overkill back there." He then stood beside the two, staring down at the bound Monquistan, who was still wriggling within his confines and making muffled screams. "For an almighty captain of His Majesty, you sure don't look like one right now, eh?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _The rest of the group followed after the infamous pirate and stepped into the room, only to be told that they were all leaving again. Iridian stepped out of the way so the others could pass by them with their newly-acquired hostage. They glanced down at the monkey for a second, but the more-than-awkward eye-contact that was made was reason enough to not look anymore. How do you look at the captain of a ship when you know you've killed a good number of his men?_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Corrvin turned back around to see their little afterparty, blood turning just a little colder at the amount of monkey corpses around them. He'd been trying to just incapacitate the poor fellows― oh, geez. The moonmancer tried not to overthink it, shaking his head with a shudder. "Let's not taunt him. We'll need him to talk, remember?" Corry held up the now squirming Captain, nodding to the end of the hall. "We'll interrogate him on our ship, then leave him at a safezone."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Fine, fine," Eastwick relented. "Can't say it's not funny, though." he then faced Nightingale and gave her red hair a ruffle. "Good work you did protectin' Angel-man, Vi. Now mind if you head on up and heal anyone who's been injured? I'm sure we'll all be takin' a break before we start the interrogations, anyway."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Nightingale nodded, and if anyone squinted closely, they could see a happy glow on her face from being praised. "Very well, then, Captain. Though, I must advise you to restrain yourself― remember what happened with the last person?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you this time. I'm just sayin', though, I didn't actually expect their spinal cord to break from a pair of tweezers."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _\-----_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Across the ship, within the back rooms, Halyard listened and Isabella watched with curious intensity. The Monquistan lady and the Crab man nervously talked, unaware._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"The, as you can see, my lady, we have, my co workers, in the―" the man fumbled with some sheets he had pulled, wrinkled, out of the bag slung over his shoulder. "―people have been disappearing, around all areas, not just―" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"We know this! What of the search parties? The investigations? I will have this information here, before anyone else, before I fire the captain for whatever awful commotion is happening on deck. Can't they be more swift about it?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"We― our search parties have found," he walked around the table, and Isabella was able to see the papers more clearly― census copies, carriage company forms, schematics for Life Fountains, many transportation papers. Isabella shifted to get a better view. Halyard glanced at her as she shifted, unable to see what the wizard could see._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"―no trackable pathway. It seems like the safest way to travel is by personal, trusted boat. Magical transportation is, in my opinion, no good. What was, my lady, if I may―may ask, when did your uncle―"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"It's in the report, Mister Bianchi. My uncle was on vacation to a particularly low-class city in Mirage. I can't imagine why, their fashion sense is dreadful there, but he's always had eccentric tastes." She tapped her foot on the chair. Bianchi looked anxious, and tapped his claws together restlessly. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"About that, eccentricity, does his eccentric taste extend to, to instant travel?" _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"I couldn't say."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Because according to all accounts, just like half the missing folk, he must have stepped into the portal, and, well, simply never arrived. In Mirage."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Is that all the information you have to offer me?" the lady Monquistan asked, visibly irritated. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Bianchi clicked nervously. "Well. Yes. We've been very stumped. Sorry."_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _Furiously, the lady Monquistan drew herself up and hopped primly off her chair. "His disappearance has been well-established by this point! This investigation has been fruitless. You are of no help to me. Mister Bianchi, I thank you for your services." She made her way to the door. Isabella lurched back, realizing what was about to happen, and straightened up. Halyard was startled by Isabella's sudden movement, put two and three together, and grabbed for her pistol._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Lady Alpizar―!" Bianchi sputtered. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _The door swung open. Halyard lowered her gun. Lady Alpizar and Bianchi froze. Halyard gave a swashbuckler's smile. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _"Madame and Mister, would you come with me?"_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! let us know what you liked, what you didnt like, WHO you liked, etc. questions comments concerns
> 
> <3  
_-rp room 2_

**Author's Note:**

> We have several days already written and currently undergoing editing - **Current stopping point: Day 5 (Night)**
> 
> If you'd like, comment your favorite part, maybe who you'd like to see more of, and we'll do our best to respond to your comment and upload more content. Thank you so much for reading!  
-_rp room 2_


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